The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger

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The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger

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Author(s)

Colin Meloy

Co-Authors / Illustrators

Nikki McClure

Publisher

Balzer + Bray

Genre(s)

Age Range

Release Date

April 17, 2018

ISBN

978-0062368256

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With dazzling, lyrical verse in the folk revival style and stunning cut-paper illustrations, Colin Meloy and Nikki McClure pay tribute to Pete Seeger, a visionary who changed the world with song. Pete Seeger once sang that if he had a golden thread, he would use it to weave people from all over the world to one another. That golden thread, for Pete, was music. Born into a family of traveling musicians, Pete picked up his first instrument at age seven. From then on, music was his life, whether he was playing banjo for soldiers during World War II, rallying civil rights activists and war protesters with songs such as “We Shall Overcome,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” and “If I Had a Hammer,” or leading environmental efforts to clean up the Hudson River. For decades, Pete Seeger’s messages of universal understanding and social and environmental justice inspired generations—and have left a lasting legacy.

With dazzling, lyrical verse in the folk revival style and stunning cut-paper illustrations, Colin Meloy and Nikki McClure pay tribute to Pete Seeger, a visionary who changed the world with song.

Pete Seeger once sang that if he had a golden thread, he would use it to weave people from all over the world to one another. That golden thread, for Pete, was music.

Born into a family of traveling musicians, Pete picked up his first instrument at age seven. From then on, music was his life, whether he was playing banjo for soldiers during World War II, rallying civil rights activists and war protesters with songs such as “We Shall Overcome,” “Where Have All the Flowers Gone?,” and “If I Had a Hammer,” or leading environmental efforts to clean up the Hudson River.

For decades, Pete Seeger’s messages of universal understanding and social and environmental justice inspired generations—and have left a lasting legacy.

Editor reviews

2 reviews

Beauty & Truth

March 17, 2018 (Updated: June 26, 2026)

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

N/A

Writing Style

N/A

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

4.0

'The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger' by Colin Meloy, illustrated by Nikki McClure, took a bit to get into, owing to the prologue of sorts that took up the first few pages of the story. However, once the main story began, that delved into the biography of Pete Seeger and how his life moved from childhood to marriage to his singing career and more, the pace picked up and the rhymes, much like his songs, were imbued with his passion.

Learning about how he fits into history, from being accused of Communist leanings, to his role in the fight for Civil Rights, it is interesting to learn about Pete Seeger's interest in social causes. The illustrations do a fine job of telling the story of his life, and the timeline at the end of the book helps connect all of the ideas throughout the rest of the story.

A worthwhile and interesting read about one of the more influential songwriters of the 20th century, 'The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger' weaves the beauty of music with the truth of his life story.

Good Points

A worthwhile and interesting read about one of the more influential songwriters of the 20th century, 'The Golden Thread: A Song for Pete Seeger' weaves the beauty of music with the truth of his life story.